About Timberland Regional Library

Timberland Regional Library (TRL) is a public library system that provides library services to the residents of five counties in Southwest Washington State: Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston Counties. Under Washington State law, TRL is an Intercounty Rural Library District and is funded by property taxes and revenue from timber sales in the 5-county area.

In the 1960's the Washington State Library Commission initiated a demonstration project to improve library services in Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties in response to requests from the counties' residents. Through this cooperative effort, library services were consolidated to create a more efficient and economical regional operation, to increase the size of the library collections and to provide service for the first time in several rural communities.

Citizens voted in November 1968 to unite the five counties into one library district, the Timberland Regional Library (TRL). TRL services began in 21 libraries with Becky Morrison serving as the first Executive Director. Since 1968, TRL has provided information, reading and lifelong learning services at 27 libraries offering over 1 million items to more than half a million people. The library system is funded mainly by local property taxes with additional income from timber sales taxes.

Not only were community libraries added when opportunities and dollars permitted, TRL has introduced state-of-the-art electronic services in order to provide residents with the best available library service; to provide access to all, regardless of physical limitations or geographic location; and to increase the potential of success for everyone in the system’s five counties.

TRL Timeline 1968 – Present

TRL is created in December as an Intercounty Rural Library District by a vote of the residents of the unincorporated areas of Grays Harbor, Lewis, Mason, Pacific and Thurston counties. Becky Morrison is the Library’s first director. Today’s Timberland libraries that were part of TRL from 1968 are those in Aberdeen; Belfair (the North Mason library); Centralia; Ilwaco; Lacey; Montesano (the first building owned by TRL); Oakville; Olympia; communities in East Lewis county that now have libraries in Packwood, Randle and Salkum; Raymond; South Bend; Tumwater; Westport; Winlock and Yelm. Bookmobiles served some of the communities initially.

With a 21st Century grant, Educational Services District 113 teams with Timberland Regional Library to open Cooperative Library Centers with TRL collections and service in six remote communities: *Taholah, Matlock, North River, Rochester, Boistfort and Wishkah.